Cancer, heart disease and obesity influenced by canned food. What?

There are chemicals in our food and skin products that have been linked to disrupting our endocrine system.  So what is your endocrine system anyway?

It is an interconnected system of glands in your body that control your entire metabolism!  It includes the Hypothalamus and the Pineal and Pituitary Glands in your brain, your Thyroid Gland and Pancreas, your Thymus Gland and Adrenal Glands as well as the Testes and Uterus.

The Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org), an independent research and education organization, recently published a list of the most harmful chemicals that can throw your endocrine system off the track, opening the way for serious chronic health conditions. Let’s take a look:

• BPA  A chemical used in plastics (like the plastic lining most canned foods) that imitates estrogen, fooling your body into thinking it’s the real thing.  It is linked to breast and other cancers, obesity, early puberty and heart disease.  93% of Americans have BPA in their bodies.  Avoid It by eat fresh food rather than canned whenever possible.  Wash your hands after handling receipts because the paper is often coated with BPA!

• Dioxin   Dioxins build up in the body from materials manufactured with chlorine or bromine (like bleached or bromated flours) and can disrupt both male and female reproduction.  It is also a powerful carcinogen.  Cut down your exposure by eating fewer animal products and avoid bleached (white)flour products.
  

• Atrazine   Atrazine is highly toxic and is used widely on corn crops and is pervasive in water supplies. It disrupts reproduction, is linked to breast tumors and can delay puberty.  Avoid  it by drinking water filtered through a reverse osmosis process.

• Phthalates  They trigger the “death-inducing signaling” in the testicular cells, causing them to die prematurely.  Phthalates can trigger abnormal hormone changes, lower sperm counts, and lead to obesity, diabetes and thyroid problems.  Avoid it by avoiding plastic containers, plastic wrap make with PVC (label #3), and skin products that list “fragrance”.

• Perchlorate   Perchlorate is in rocket fuel  and currently contaminates much of our produce and milk.  It competes with iodine in your body, resulting in thyroid hormone imbalance – so critical to balanced metabolism in adults and to proper brain and organ development in infants and young children.  Avoid It is pretty much impossible to avoid it in food.  But,  by drinking water treated with reverse osmosis and making certain you get enough iodine in your diet, you can reduce its effects.

• Fire Retardants  These chemicals contaminate the bodies of people and animals all over the planet – even in polar bears!  They imitate thyroid hormones, disrupting your metabolism.  This can lead to lower IQ and other significant health conditions.  Avoid  Virtually impossible to avoid, there are some ways to help reduce exposure such as using a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner, not reupholstering foam furniture, and not using cheap carpet padding.

• Lead   Lead is a naturally occurring heavy metal that is very toxic to the body.  It is linked to a very wide array of health problems such as permanent brain damage, lowered IQ, hearing loss, hypertension, kidney damage and nervous system problems.  It also disrupts your hormones. Avoid  Old paint is a major source of lead – its powder in the air is breathed in and children eat the lead dust off the floor.  Drink water that has been through reverse osmosis (you might want to buy your own filter).

• Arsenic  This toxin is in your food and drinking water in small amounts that accumulate in your body.  It is a causative factor in cancer and it disrupts your hormones.  It can lead to insulin resistance (which leads to diabetes), osteoporosis, and can suppress your immune system.  Avoid   Use a good reverse osmosis water filter.

• Mercury  This is an extremely toxic material that can cause serious nervous system disorders, disrupt normal pancreatic production of insulin and the hormones that regulate women’s cycles.  It concentrates in the fetal brain and interferes with its development.  Pregnant women are at great risk.   Avoid   Many types of fish- such as tuna and swordfish – are contaminated with mercury.  Wild salmon and farmed trout are good alternatives.

• PFCs  These chemicals are used to make nonstick cookware and 99% of us have them in our bodies.  One of its compounds (PFOA) never degrades – ever – and is linked to low sperm quality, kidney and thyroid diseases.  Avoid  Stop using nonstick cookware as well as stain and water resistant coatings on furniture, carpets and clothing.

• Organophosphate pesticides   These are neurotoxic compounds used in pesticides to disrupt the nervous system of insects and are still in use despite a large array of scientific evidence that they affect brain development, lower testosterone levels and alter thyroid hormones.  Avoid   Buy organic produce (check out this RNPA bookmark to learn which produce should best be purchased organic and which are okay to buy without the organic label).

• Glycol Ethers   These toxins – common in paints, cleaning products, brake fluid and cosmetics – shrink testicles!  Children who are exposed have greater risk of asthma and allergies.  Avoid   Check out EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning to select healthy cleaning materials.  Avoid anything that contains EGBE and DEGME – read those labels!

Knowledge is power;  you can learn to protect yourself and your loved ones in this environment heavily laced with toxins.